From the Beginning
by OctopusByStarlight
Summary: Ella goes to sleep married to Char, happy, but wakes up in the beginning. How is she going to get through this, and what happened exactly? Please R&R! My first Ella story, please give my story a chance! Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters. I might make some up later, but for now all of them are from Gail Carson Levine. However, the plot is mine.

Ella closed her magic book. Her children were just being tucked into bed, she had observed.

It was a dark night. The sky was littered with white stars, and the moon shone brightly.

"Good night, Char," Ella whispered as she kissed her husband lightly on the cheek and slid under the covers.

The king and queen of Kyrria were currently on a trip to visit Areida, Ella's beloved friend, in Amonta. They were spending the night at Areida's family's Inn, but tomorrow they would depart and travel back home.

Hugging her pillow, Ella drifted off to the Shores of Sleep.

**XXX**

When Ella awoke, she heard footsteps. Leaves crinkled in her ears. With her vision blurry, Ella thought she must be dreaming. But her vision eventually cleared, allowing her to finally realize where she was.

Ella sighted the leaves of a willow tree. Beyond the leaves, she spotted tombstones, and a pair of feet.

Char!

Suddenly she recognized the location. Ella was back in Frell, and this was where she cried when her mother died! How did this happen?

She looked down at herself, and noticed she was dressed in a dirty brown gown that was supposedly black. The first thing she thought was that her mother would have hated it. Her mother would have asked her to wear a green gown, as to match her wild green eyes.

"Cousin of mine," Char stated, motioning towards the tombstone in front of him. "Never liked him. I liked your mother."

Weren't these the words he said to her the day of the funeral?

"Char!" Ella burst out from under the willow tree and ran towards him.

"Excuse me?" the handsome, young Prince Charmont seemed bewildered. He cocked his head and scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion.

Ella gasped of both astonishment and disappointment. She understood. This was the young Prince Charmont. This was the first time she had supposedly met him. But they were already married! How could this be? Char didn't exactly know her yet. Everything had rewound.

Ella pinched herself, and winced from the pain. She was still there. She was still at the place of her mother's funeral, facing Prince Charmont, who had not yet fallen in love with her.

"I'm… I'm… sorry," Ella apologized, holding back tears. "I'm sorry, Prince Charmont." Ella felt the words unrolling on her tongue. Her mouth begged to simply call him Char.

"It's all right," Char replied politely. "You may call me Char. My father calls me Char as well."

Tears welled up in Ella's eyes. This was reality. Everything had gone back. All the way back. She was cursed again. She did not have Char's love. Hattie and Olive were still destined to be her stepsisters. She would have to do everything all over again.

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**A/N: **Whoo, my first Ella Enchanted story! I'm not sure my writing will be so Ella Enchanted-ish, but I want to try, and I'll try very hard. Please help me and REVIEW!!! Thank you! I know this chapter is short, but it's half prologue, half chapter... I'm just counting it as a chapter. Please review!!! Constructive Criticism please! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters. I might make some up later, but for now all of them are from Gail Carson Levine. However, the plot is mine. Also, some phrases may be exactly from the book, as that is how the people besides Ella started the conversations, so I might start with some of the phrases that they said. I won't be doing it a lot after a while, though.

Ella looked at the ground, up to Char, and back down to the ground again. She felt embarrassed yet disappointed.

"I suppose we should head back," Ella cast her glance at a nearby tree. She peeked at the Prince, and stared at the grass in front of her feet. She began to walk.

Char's footsteps were heavy. The leaves and grass rustled as if muted when they were pushed against the damp ground.

No words sounded on the way back.

The gray, cloud-filled sky let down some raindrops.

"Father," Ella whispered, barely audible. She continued toward the silhouette and when she found herself next to him, he immediately spoke.

"Come, Eleanor."

"Ella, father. Please call me Ella."

"As you wish. Come, Ella."

Char handed her in properly with a quiet "Goodbye" and the carriage disappeared down the road.

Many guests had already arrived at the manor, and they all heard the carriage rumbling in. Once it slowed to a stop, Ella opened the door and ran inside for some time alone before her father could order her to change out of that mud-caked dress she was wearing. Just to be safe, Ella had covered her ears as she sprinted into the house. She rushed past a Mandy, who was heading for the kitchen. The beloved cook sensed something amiss and hastily went after her.

"Ella, dear, what's wrong?" Mandy inquired from the doorway to the bedroom.

There was no answer.

Ella was curled up at the side of her bed. She was shaking slightly. A small tear was visible on the wooden floor.

Mandy silently walked over, kneeled beside the bed, and patted her back, comforting her. After a while Ella finally spoke.

"Oh, Mandy. You will never believe what has happened to me."

"Tell me, dear."

The wet-faced girl looked up at her closest companion and saw loving, caring eyes on a face she had known all her life. She took a deep breath, and began spilling all the knowledge she had of the past. _Her_ past.

"My father's going to marry a horrible woman who will want me to address her has _Mum_ Olga."

"And how would that happen exactly?"

"Wait. I'm not done. This terrible woman Olga has two daughters name Hattie and Olive. Those two are just as dreadful as their mother, if not worse. And Mandy, I'm going to suffer in their presence!"

"Maybe you're getting a bit ahead of yourself, Ella."

"No, I am not. They will make me a scullery maid."

"I would never let them treat you like that." Mandy shook her head. "There might not even be a 'they,' dear. Why do you believe all of this anyway?"

"I know."

"Let's get you out of that muddy dress and go downstairs."

"No! You don't understand." Ella face melted as she cried out, "I'm not supposed to be here! I have lived through this all before. I experienced everything. Truthfully, Char has already married me for a while. I'm many years older than you think! But somehow I came back to the past – now. Char doesn't even know me anymore. Or yet, for that matter."

"Ella," Mandy simply replied out of sympathy. Actually, Mandy didn't understand why Ella was acting this way. It didn't make that much sense.

"You have to trust me Mandy. I promise you, if we go downstairs right now, the girls I told you about – Hattie and Olive – will be stuffing their faces with the food laid out on the table for the guests."

"Honey, the food I cooked there, for the guests… these girls you talk about _are_guest."

"Mandy," Ella whined.

"All right, I believe you."

A murmur of disbelief came in reply.

"Really, I do." Mandy said, and mentally attempted to fit all of Ella's stories in her mind.

Ella sighed and went to her wardrobe. She was considered choosing a mourning gown, but suddenly her eyes caught on a green dress. The black gown would make father happy, or at least content. The green one would make mother filled to the brim with joy. Happier colors, happier parent, Ella thought. If her mother was there, she might even be forced to wear the green. She touched the silky fabric tenderly. Yes, she would put this on.

Then again, if she wore the black one, father might not complain as much, resulting in fewer commands.

On the other hand, she thought of how badly her father had treated her. So stern, always. And marrying Dame Olga! That move certainly made her entire life miserable. Ella, with a devious thought, decided against the black gown just to anger and almost embarrass her father. It was only fair.

She dressed, and took a look in the mirror.

"You look wonderful, Ella. Your mother would love it."

"Yes, she would." Ella would wear anything to please her mother any day. "I miss Mother."

"Me too, dear," Mandy said, joining Ella in front of the full-length mirror.

"I look like an insect."

She draped her hands over Ella's shoulders reassuringly. "Well, we should consider going back downstairs, miss insect."

Ella grinned.

"Mandy, do you believe the things I said though?"

"Of course."

Mandy met Ella's eyes, and the loving cook smiled; traces of sincerity hung on her cheeks.

"Oh, Mandy, you're the best!" Ella exclaimed, adding a great big hug. "Now let's get downstairs before Hattie and Olive swallow all the food and start eating the table itself," she laughed.

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**A/N:** Heh. Heh. I updated... I'm sorry for the uh... year's break. I'm not sure I'll be writing so often, but I had half a chapter written, so I decided it to finish it tonight. Thank you for reviewing before. I'm glad you liked the plot! I'm really happy that people like my idea, except now... I don't really know what to do with it. Ideas accepted. Again, sorry for delaying! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad... 


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